Seeing it differently

Art class at Macaw Center all about perspectives.

Art class at Macaw Center all about perspectives.

July 16, 2008|SHARON DETTMER Tribune Correspondent

SAWYER Try this at home if you're an aspiring artist. Take a square of clear Mylar, and stick it on big picture window. Then, take a fine-point color marker and draw what you see outside the window. Be careful not to change your position, or your perspective may change. Niffee Krumrie challenged her art students to do just that recently during an art class geared toward folks from the River Valley Senior Citizen Center in Lakeside. The class was held at The Scarlet Macaw Community Art Center in Sawyer. There are challenges to overcome when we attempt to paint landscapes, Krumrie said. "Perspective is very important when you are trying to achieve depth," she said. Barb Clark from New Buffalo, a student in the class, was clearly grasping the concepts taught. "I started taking art classes here when I returned from Florida," she said. "I definitely like coming here. It's so relaxing, and a nonthreatening atmosphere. "You can really let yourself go artistically." In fact, the art class has given students such as Ruth Merrifield a new perspective on creativity. The Three Oaks resident defined the class as "my mental health time." Now in her retirement years, Merrifield was looking for activities to do. "This summer is the first time that I really have had an opportunity to come here and take classes. And I am really enjoying learning, drawing and doing art," she said. Improving observational and expressive skills is the goal of the class. As she taught, Krumrie shared an outstanding landscape photograph of a castle on a Caribbean island. The scenery and depth were amazing in the photograph, she said. "I thought that this was a great illustration of the concepts we are studying today," she told her class. The challenge for students was to create the same perspectives that the picture conveyed using any art medium that they desired to use. Some chose pencil, others chose paint. Fred Crowe from South Bend selected acrylic paint for the assignment. Before beginning the project, the class studied the use of atmospheric perspective achieved by painting the foreground of their artwork in dark and saturated colors, and by using lighter background colors to create objects that appear farther away. Texture was another subject studied. "If you want to create an illusion of depth," Krumrie said, "you can use texture by making brush strokes in the foreground that are deeper in color and more precise in form." Developing skills to put more life into drawings takes patience and skill. Phyllis Norris, who is spending the summer months camping near Warren Dunes State Park, was clearly enjoying the personal creative process of practicing drawing and painting in class. "I like to paint. I'm an amateur," she said. "But I enjoy taking what I learn here home and practicing making interesting artwork."